Enthusiastic community participation moves Plan Bentonville forward.
Last February, a broad representation of the Bentonville community came together during a weeklong schedule of input opportunities to share priorities and help shape the city’s future growth plans. In the months since, that input has formed the foundation for a new round of draft proposals.
Between July 18 and August 9, those proposals made their debut through a series of open houses, pop-ups, and office hours, as well as an online tutorial and input map.
Over 30,000 people were reached via social media. Hundreds of residents joined us in-person while thousands more reviewed the materials online. Nearly 1,200 people helped fine-tune the map with nuanced perspectives on individual parcels. Through it we gained a clearer picture of what different people in different parts of town want for their built future. And we even received input on who might be falling through the cracks of the process to help us develop targeted outreach strategies for missing perspectives.
What Was Presented
Two key ideas characterized the recent outreach and form the basis for the draft recommendations currently being reviewed:
Place Types: The conventional approach that currently governs Bentonville land development separates different aspects of our lives by use — where we live, or shop, or work, or recreate. This creates a sense of predictability about what uses will someday emerge on individual properties, but beyond that it’s not a very precise tool for achieving broader community goals — like financial sustainability or choices in how we’re able to get around or creating neighborhoods where diverse community can flourish.
The Plan Bentonville process — a lengthy community effort to plan for future growth and then modify our zoning code to align with those goals — has instead been looking at what we call ‘place types’. Think of it as growth planning that looks not just at the where but also the what. What type of environments — from rural to suburban to downtown — will result from the inevitable development we’ll experience in the coming decades, and how can we govern that development for maximum community benefit, choice and opportunity?
Performance: A big part of the discussions thus far surrounds the idea that different models of development perform differently. Some are tax-positive financially, meaning they result in greater revenue for the city than what they take out in terms of infrastructure, city services, etc. Others are tax-negative, in the sense that their costs exceed their revenue, though they may still deliver community value in other ways. What’s important is that the community ultimately includes a balance of both, ensuring a net-positive balance sheet overall.
This is true for other factors as well. Some types result in places where walking or biking become more viable options for getting around. Or where job opportunities across the employment spectrum are easily accessible. Or where a greater range of housing types allow for more people of different circumstances to find a home that fits their needs.
What Comes Next
Come early September, we’ll be sharing our distillation of the input we've received with the Plan Bentonville Steering Committee, which includes representatives of various city boards and committees, civic and cultural organizations, schools, and development firms, and Technical Committee, which is made up of city departments and various city officials. Based on their input, we’ll have more details to share on community participation and our proposed next steps in the coming weeks. So stay tuned.
Until then, we offer our sincere thanks to the Bentonville community for taking such an active role in this process. Our efforts are made stronger through yours.